Do You Want Likes, or Do You Want Love?

That is truly the question in today’s world.

Jun 30, 2025

We live in a time where women have fought long and hard for rights—our right to vote, to work, to earn fair wages, to be treated as equals. And yet, when I look around, I find myself asking: What are we doing with those rights now? In the pursuit of validation, many women have seemingly traded authenticity for artificiality.

Fake eyelashes, fake nails, fake hair, fake boobs, fake butts—and now, an entirely new face shaped by excessive plastic surgery. There’s even a specific “plastic surgery look” that has become so common, it’s as if individuality is being erased. Ironically, many of these same women are the ones shouting from the rooftops that they want a “real man.” But how can you attract something real when there is nothing real about you?

I’m not here to shame, but I am here to question the path we’re taking. Why are we altering our natural bodies to fit into society’s ever-shifting, filtered ideals? What happened to self-acceptance? To uniqueness? To being proud of who we are without needing the world’s digital applause?

This isn’t just about appearances—it’s about the deeper issue of self-worth and validation. We’ve entered an era of instant gratification where a “like” on Instagram is mistaken for love. But likes are fleeting. They disappear into the digital void, and the emptiness creeps back in.

I once had a guest at the hotel I managed—a young woman who had just finished teaching a yoga class in her bikini. When her post didn’t get the engagement she hoped for, she broke down in tears in the lobby. That was my first real glimpse into the emotional fragility this culture can create. It’s not just about vanity—it’s about identity, mental health, and our ability to cope when the internet doesn’t validate our worth.

I know men struggle with these things too, but right now, I’m speaking directly to women. If you truly want love—not likes, not attention, not temporary gratification—but authentic, meaningful love, you have to start by being real. Real love comes from real connection. It comes from presence, respect, and shared values—not filtered selfies and surface-level allure.

You want a man who will be there on your worst days, who will stand by you through birth, through aging, through the real stuff of life? Then you need to match that energy. You need to be someone real—a woman who respects herself enough to show up as she is, not as what society has manipulated her into becoming.

My advice? Skip the Botox. Save the money you’d spend on altering your face or body and invest it in therapy or self-growth. Because anyone who believes that cutting out a rib or injecting fat into her butt is the path to happiness is not pursuing beauty—she’s running from pain. And that’s not a fashion statement. That’s a mental health crisis.

Let’s stop idolizing people like the Kardashians who have profited by selling us an illusion, who package insecurity into billion-dollar products, and who sit in mansions paid for by the self-esteem of their followers. Their influence is not rooted in integrity, and their products aren’t either. Why are we shaping our bodies to look like women who never truly represented us to begin with?

There was a time when calling someone “plastic” meant they were fake. Now, many women have become physically plastic—from head to toe. Real hearts beating inside synthetic shells.

It’s sad. Sad for the women losing themselves, and sad for the men trying to love beyond the surface. Dating is hard enough. Love is hard enough. But when everything is fake, how can anything real begin?

The truth is, love doesn't live online. It’s not in likes. It’s not in filters. And it certainly isn't in surgeries. Love starts with self-acceptance, with showing up as your true self—imperfect, yes, but honest and whole.